There has been increasing attention focused on children who manage to cope competently despite expected vulnerability to psychological and psychiatric disturbance. The study of competencies in these children is viewed as important both to aid in the understanding of the developmental processes of children at risk as well as to formulate intervention strategies based on their strengths. The search for determinants and correlates of psychopathology and mental health has lead researchers to examine prospectively children who are at risk for developing emotional problems. Although children at risk have been found to develop some form of psychological disturbance more often than children who were not at risk, there are children deemed at risk who appear to develop normally. The present study focuses on these children.
